There are a myriad of chair designs extant, many of which claim to be more efficient, more comfortable, or more therapeutic than others. Most recently exercise balls have been used, either alone or within a chair “frame” for core strengthening but are problematic because when used alone they roll away, deflate, don't provide enough stability, and most significantly, don't provide appropriate weight distribution on the coccyx, femurs, gluteal region, and through recent studies, have been found that they do not engage the core muscles more than a traditional chair.
Prior to the ball chairs, foam, rubber and mesh materials have been used in chair manufacture, so as to provide soft, flexible surfaces. Foam and rubber surfaces lend support, while also providing comfort. Foam materials can be designed to provide either stiff or soft support. Strategic placement of stiffening materials within soft foam or rubber shells have been found useful in delivering sustained back comfort over extended periods of time for individuals having normal spine alignments. However, a great number of people have moderate-to-severe back problems.
The primary problem with all existing chair forms, is that the seating platform, whether an inflatable ball, fixed, or otherwise ‘ergonomic’ is fixed in one plane, so that the angle of the spine, legs and hips, are captive for long periods of sitting, with no ability to change the sitting position, creating constant compressive force on the vertebrae, causing pain to the lower back, limiting circulation and virtually eliminating active muscle engagement.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,389 A the invention entitled “Pneumatic, ball-shaped chair” is discussed. Features of the aforementioned chair include a chair having a large, inflated, ball-shaped seat. The ball-shaped seat of the chair re-forms in response to an individual's weight and his or her seated position.
The present invention differs from the ball-shaped chair of the aforementioned patent in that the current invention in substantial ways. The present invention captures the benefits of the previous invention but solves several problems, namely: the angle of the sitter can change dynamically throughout the day; the bungee cords offer resistance and encourage active sitting as opposed to passive balancing; the contoured seat distributes the sitters weight appropriately and thus avoids leg and gluteal discomfort; the swivel plate allows for side to side twisting and torsioning; and the balance of the top plane allows for front to back and side to side movement but held within a harmonically balanced yet adjustable relationship with the sitter, ball, chair and floor. The harmonic balance that the seat is held in, allows the sitter to do abdominal exercises suitable to their fitness level while sitting. Further, the invention has a spring-loaded articulated back support to not just passively provide lumbar support but actively engage the lower back to both encourage movement and continually correct the sitter's posture.
Therefore what is needed is a chair or stool that facilitates dynamic motion, encourages movement, enables an almost constant weight and angle shifting as well as balancing and rebalancing, while engaging the gluteal, leg, ab, and lower back muscles.